1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toothbrushes and other dental utensils for use by children and a toothbrush kit that teaches children how to clean and care for their teeth and about their dental health. More particularly, the toothbrushes and other dental utensils of the present invention each include a gripping element formed near the middle of the handle of the toothbrush and utensil to provide for better gripping by a child""s hand. The gripping element is in the shape of a sporting implement that also serves to make the use of the toothbrush more attractive and fun for the child. In addition to including the toothbrush and other dental utensils, the toothbrush kit also includes an instructional book for teaching the child dental health practices, a toothbrush stand for holding the toothbrushes and finger puppets attached to the stand that are animal characters from the instructional book.
2. General Background
The use of specially designed toothbrushes to encourage children to take a greater interest in their dental health and to brush longer are known in the art. Some of these prior art toothbrush designs may provide a more grippable handle and others are themed in order to generate interest by the child by using sports figures and animal characters. These prior art designs, however, fail to incorporate the specially designed features of the toothbrush in the handle such that the design feature fits comfortably in the concave shape of the child""s palm as it grips the handle. Also, such prior art toothbrushes fail to provide a themed instructional approach to dental health.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush or other dental utensil that has a sporting implement formed in the middle of the handle of the toothbrush or other dental utensil and shaped to fit comfortably in the palm of the child""s hand. The sporting implement should be of interest to the child by being in the shape of objects liked by children. It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a themed instructional approach to dental health by providing an instructional book for reference by the child and the child""s parents and finger puppets placed on the toothbrush stand to pique the fanciful interests of the child. The finger puppets are in the shape of themed animal characters that appear in the instructional book and guide the reader through the steps of brushing and dental health in a rhymed and colorful format common in children""s books.
The utensil of the present invention, which can be a toothbrush, includes a handle that at one end includes a brush and in the middle forms a gripping element. To create a sporting theme, the gripping elements are shaped as sporting implements and are preferably of a ball configuration such as a spherical or elliptical shape. A plurality of such utensils are included as part of an instructional kit that further includes an instructional book for teaching the child dental health, a toothbrush stand for holding the toothbrushes and finger puppets attached to the stand that depict characters from the book.
To provide for an optimal gripping surface for the child""s hand, the sporting implement formed in the handle of the toothbrush is positioned approximately equal distance from the ends of the handle to be aligned with the palm of the child""s hand as it folds around the handle during brushing or use. Furthermore, each of the sporting implements is formed of a foam-rubber type substance and is of such a size and contour as to fit comfortably in the hand of a child and to provide a gripping surface. In the preferred embodiment, the sporting implement is of a ball configuration such as a spherical or elliptical shape such as a basketball, baseball, golf ball, soccor ball, tennis ball and football and has a length less than 3 inches and a circumference less than 5 inches. Other utensils, in addition to a toothbrush that may be included in the kit are a mirror and a stimulator tool, and a sporting implement may be formed near the middle of their handles as well.
The kit of the present invention includes an instructional book that instruct the child on dental health in a fanciful and graphic manner. The kit also includes a stand for hanging all of the toothbrushes. The stand being a flat plastic surface having holes for inserting the handles of the toothbrushes. The surface is supported by two fruit or vegetable-shaped legs which in the preferred embodiment are shaped like apples Finally, on each of the apple-shaped legs is a finger puppet removably attached to the apple-shaped legs. The finger puppets are fantasy animal characters that are used in the book to instruct children on good brushings habits.
There are various advantages to using the utensil designs and toothbrush kit of the present invention. Because the kit is fun for children to use, children will have a tendency to enjoy brushing, brush longer and become educated with respect to the important aspects of dental health. Because the children that use the present invention will practice better dental health, they will have healthier and cleaner teeth, mouth and gums. Another advantage is that the parents of the children that use the toothbrushing kit of the present invention will learn more about good dental health practices and can, therefore, more readily teach and instruct their children.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.